Eating Out, Part 4 and final, probably, unless you want to add something

Look, I didn't make this stuff up.

No, it didn't all happen last week. It happened over time but not over 42 years' time.

And, no, I don't scrutinize my food when it's placed in front of me. I assume all is well, but maybe I should not make that assumption. I repeat, these things are real; they happen. I could write much more, but I'll share only a couple of stories here. If this stuff bothers you, perhaps you should stop reading right here.

First, the people I have written about are my family members and a friend or two. I suggest we're not the only folks on the planet finding foreign materials, living, dead, or hairy, in food we've paid money for. And we don't always complain. Sometimes, especially if the hair we find in our food is blonde, we pull it out and figure it could be one of ours. Cory did that just last week.

But some hairs a person just shouldn't have to deal with when eating. Take Jeff's recent experience with a salad and a "hair" at Wendy's. Eating happily enough, he paused to look at the bite he was about to take because it just did not seem right. What he found was something that had likely been swept up from the floor--sizeable lint ball with longish hair attached. Now how could that get into his salad in a place that is careful about the food it serves? I ask you.

Even a small insect we have been known to overlook or pick out of the food, if we can catch it. But some things must be spoken of, and so we do occasionally speak of them to those who are in the business to serve food to us, their paying customers. But it doesn't always bring satisfaction or even an apology. See phyllis's comment about the salad at Olive Garden. The server was defensive and maybe even lying.

And here is another brief report. Lola went with friends to The Ram, a popular Boise eatery, where they waited for a seat, waited for a server, waited for service, and waited a long time for food. When the food finally came it was cold. Lola and friends spoke to the manager, telling him they had waited a long time, telling him their food was cold. His response? An apology? No. Sympathy at least? No. Instead, a rather snooty, "Well, did you ask to have it warmed up?"

Figure the logic there.

I heard from one of my students a few years ago--she worked at an expensive and trendy Boise night spot--what some servers and cooks there do when their food is complained about. And it gives a person pause. But when I worked for a time in a small cafe, we never took revenge in any way. Of course, we got few complaints. The food was wonderful and we were careful. That was our business, after all. And I do not suggest that the places I have named would do anything gross or harmful to someone's food on purpose, like spitting in your soup, or worse. No, I do not suggest it.

But I name names here because, hey, why not? If these eating establishments serve earwigs, fish fins, bits of glass, or hair--and I could go on--then they should be known for doing so.

Here's to meals at home for a while.